“Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” is a song written by Peter Rowan, the singer-songwriter whose career has ranged across bluegrass, rock, and country-rock. It was recorded in 1973 by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, the country-rock band, for their album “The Adventures of Panama Red.”
The song is a wry, affectionate sketch of the early-1970s Los Angeles country-rock scene — a transplanted “cowboy” adrift in the city, name-checking the clubs and the musicians of the moment as country and rock were blending into something new. Its loping groove and insider detail made it a vivid snapshot of that world.
The song also belongs to the bluegrass story through Old and in the Way, the celebrated band of which Rowan was a member alongside Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” remains one of Rowan’s most enjoyed songs.
